Showing papers on "Job shop scheduling published in 2016"

A dynamic model and an algorithm for short-term supply chain scheduling in the smart factory industry 4.0

Abstract: Smart factories Industry 4.0 on the basis of collaborative cyber-physical systems represents a future form of industrial networks. Supply chains in such networks have dynamic structures which evolve over time. In these settings, short-term supply chain scheduling in smart factories Industry 4.0 is challenged by temporal machine structures, different processing speed at parallel machines and dynamic job arrivals. In this study, for the first time, a dynamic model and algorithm for short-term supply chain scheduling in smart factories Industry 4.0 is presented. The peculiarity of the considered problem is the simultaneous consideration of both machine structure selection and job assignments. The scheduling approach is based on a dynamic non-stationary interpretation of the execution of the jobs and a temporal decomposition of the scheduling problem. The algorithmic realisation is based on a modified form of the continuous maximum principle blended with mathematical optimisation. A detailed theoretical analy...

Evolutionary Multi-Objective Workflow Scheduling in Cloud

Abstract: Cloud computing provides promising platforms for executing large applications with enormous computational resources to offer on demand. In a Cloud model, users are charged based on their usage of resources and the required quality of service (QoS) specifications. Although there are many existing workflow scheduling algorithms in traditional distributed or heterogeneous computing environments, they have difficulties in being directly applied to the Cloud environments since Cloud differs from traditional heterogeneous environments by its service-based resource managing method and pay-per-use pricing strategies. In this paper, we highlight such difficulties, and model the workflow scheduling problem which optimizes both makespan and cost as a Multi-objective Optimization Problem (MOP) for the Cloud environments. We propose an evolutionary multi-objective optimization (EMO)-based algorithm to solve this workflow scheduling problem on an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) platform. Novel schemes for problem-specific encoding and population initialization, fitness evaluation and genetic operators are proposed in this algorithm. Extensive experiments on real world workflows and randomly generated workflows show that the schedules produced by our evolutionary algorithm present more stability on most of the workflows with the instance-based IaaS computing and pricing models. The results also show that our algorithm can achieve significantly better solutions than existing state-of-the-art QoS optimization scheduling algorithms in most cases. The conducted experiments are based on the on-demand instance types of Amazon EC2; however, the proposed algorithm are easy to be extended to the resources and pricing models of other IaaS services.

Sub-Channel Assignment, Power Allocation, and User Scheduling for Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access Networks

Abstract: In this paper, we study the resource allocation and user scheduling problem for a downlink non-orthogonal multiple access network where the base station allocates spectrum and power resources to a set of users. We aim to jointly optimize the sub-channel assignment and power allocation to maximize the weighted total sum-rate while taking into account user fairness. We formulate the sub-channel allocation problem as equivalent to a many-to-many two-sided user-subchannel matching game in which the set of users and sub-channels are considered as two sets of players pursuing their own interests. We then propose a matching algorithm, which converges to a two-side exchange stable matching after a limited number of iterations. A joint solution is thus provided to solve the sub-channel assignment and power allocation problems iteratively. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm greatly outperforms the orthogonal multiple access scheme and a previous non-orthogonal multiple access scheme.

Sub-channel Assignment, Power Allocation and User Scheduling for Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access Networks

Abstract: In this paper, we study the resource allocation and user scheduling problem for a downlink nonorthogonal multiple access network where the base station allocates spectrum and power resources to a set of users. We aim to jointly optimize the sub-channel assignment and power allocation to maximize the weighted total sum-rate while taking into account user fairness. We formulate the sub-channel allocation problem as equivalent to a many-to-many two-sided user-subchannel matching game in which the set of users and sub-channels are considered as two sets of players pursuing their own interests. We then propose a matching algorithm which converges to a two-side exchange stable matching after a limited number of iterations. A joint solution is thus provided to solve the sub-channel assignment and power allocation problems iteratively. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm greatly outperforms the orthogonal multiple access scheme and a previous non-orthogonal multiple access scheme.

Dynamic Pricing and Energy Consumption Scheduling With Reinforcement Learning

Abstract: In this paper, we study a dynamic pricing and energy consumption scheduling problem in the microgrid where the service provider acts as a broker between the utility company and customers by purchasing electric energy from the utility company and selling it to the customers. For the service provider, even though dynamic pricing is an efficient tool to manage the microgrid, the implementation of dynamic pricing is highly challenging due to the lack of the customer-side information and the various types of uncertainties in the microgrid. Similarly, the customers also face challenges in scheduling their energy consumption due to the uncertainty of the retail electricity price. In order to overcome the challenges of implementing dynamic pricing and energy consumption scheduling, we develop reinforcement learning algorithms that allow each of the service provider and the customers to learn its strategy without a priori information about the microgrid. Through numerical results, we show that the proposed reinforcement learning-based dynamic pricing algorithm can effectively work without a priori information about the system dynamics and the proposed energy consumption scheduling algorithm further reduces the system cost thanks to the learning capability of each customer.

An Energy-Efficient Task Scheduling Algorithm in DVFS-enabled Cloud Environment

Abstract: The growth of energy consumption has been explosive in current data centers, super computers, and public cloud systems. This explosion has led to greater advocacy of green computing, and many efforts and works focus on the task scheduling in order to reduce energy dissipation. In order to obtain more energy reduction as well as maintain the quality of service by meeting the deadlines, this paper proposes a DVFS-enabled Energy-efficient Workflow Task Scheduling algorithm: DEWTS. Through merging the relatively inefficient processors by reclaiming the slack time, DEWTS can leverage the useful slack time recurrently after severs are merged. DEWTS firstly calculates the initial scheduling order of all tasks, and obtains the whole makespan and deadline based on Heterogeneous-Earliest-Finish-Time (HEFT) algorithm. Through resorting the processors with their running task number and energy utilization, the underutilized processors can be merged by closing the last node and redistributing the assigned tasks on it. Finally, in the task slacking phase, the tasks can be distributed in the idle slots under a lower voltage and frequency using DVFS technique, without violating the dependency constraints and increasing the slacked makespan. Based on the amount of randomly generated DAGs workflows, the experimental results show that DEWTS can reduce the total power consumption by up to 46.5 % for various parallel applications as well as balance the scheduling performance.

Optimal Multirobot Path Planning on Graphs: Complete Algorithms and Effective Heuristics

Abstract: We study optimal multirobot path planning on graphs ( $\text{MPP}$ ) over four minimization objectives: the makespan (last arrival time), the maximum (single-robot traveled) distance, the total arrival time, and the total distance. Having established previously that these objectives are distinct and NP-hard to optimize, in this paper, we focus on efficient algorithmic solutions for solving these optimal $\text{MPP}$ problems. Toward this goal, we first establish a one-to-one solution mapping between $\text{MPP}$ and a special type of multiflow network. Based on this equivalence and integer linear programming (ILP), we design novel and complete algorithms for optimizing over each of the four objectives. In particular, our exact algorithm for computing optimal makespan solutions is a first that is capable of solving extremely challenging problems with robot-vertex ratios as high as $100\%$ . Then, we further improve the computational performance of these exact algorithms through the introduction of principled heuristics, at the expense of slight optimality loss. The combination of ILP model based algorithms and the heuristics proves to be highly effective, allowing the computation of $1.x$ -optimal solutions for problems containing hundreds of robots, densely populated in the environment, often in just seconds.

Delay-Aware Scheduling and Resource Optimization With Network Function Virtualization

Abstract: To accelerate the implementation of network functions/middle boxes and reduce the deployment cost, recently, the concept of network function virtualization (NFV) has emerged and become a topic of much interest attracting the attention of researchers from both industry and academia. Unlike the traditional implementation of network functions, a software-oriented approach for virtual network functions (VNFs) creates more flexible and dynamic network services to meet a more diversified demand. Software-oriented network functions bring along a series of research challenges, such as VNF management and orchestration, service chaining, VNF scheduling for low latency and efficient virtual network resource allocation with NFV infrastructure, among others. In this paper, we study the VNF scheduling problem and the corresponding resource optimization solutions. Here, the VNF scheduling problem is defined as a series of scheduling decisions for network services on network functions and activating the various VNFs to process the arriving traffic. We consider VNF transmission and processing delays and formulate the joint problem of VNF scheduling and traffic steering as a mixed integer linear program. Our objective is to minimize the makespan/latency of the overall VNFs’ schedule. Reducing the scheduling latency enables cloud operators to service (and admit) more customers, and cater to services with stringent delay requirements, thereby increasing operators’ revenues. Owing to the complexity of the problem, we develop a genetic algorithm-based method for solving the problem efficiently. Finally, the effectiveness of our heuristic algorithm is verified through numerical evaluation. We show that dynamically adjusting the bandwidths on virtual links connecting virtual machines, hosting the network functions, reduces the schedule makespan by 15%–20% in the simulated scenarios.

The heterogeneous green vehicle routing and scheduling problem with time-varying traffic congestion

Abstract: The green vehicle routing and scheduling problem (GVRSP) aims to minimize green-house gas emissions in logistics systems through better planning of deliveries/pickups made by a fleet of vehicles. We define a new mixed integer liner programming (MIP) model which considers heterogeneous vehicles, time-varying traffic congestion, customer/vehicle time window constraints, the impact of vehicle loads on emissions, and vehicle capacity/range constraints in the GVRSP. The proposed model allows vehicles to stop on arcs, which is shown to reduce emissions up to additional 8% on simulated data. A hybrid algorithm of MIP and iterated neighborhood search is proposed to solve the problem.

No-wait Packet Scheduling for IEEE Time-sensitive Networks (TSN)

Abstract: The IEEE Time-sensitive Networking (TSN) Task Group has recently standardized enhancements for IEEE 802.3 networks for enabling it to transport time-triggered traffic (aka scheduled traffic) providing them with stringent bounds on network delay and jitter while also transporting best-effort traffic. These enhancements primarily include dedicating one queue per port of the switch for scheduled traffic along with a programmable gating mechanism that dictates which of the queues are to be considered for transmission. While the IEEE 802.1Qbv standards define these mechanisms to handle scheduled traffic, it stops short of specifying algorithms to compute fine-grained link schedules for the streams of scheduled traffic. Further, the mechanisms in TSN require creation of so-called guard bands to isolate scheduled traffic from the best-effort traffic. These guard bands may potentially result in bandwidth wastage, and hence schedules with lower number of guard bands are preferred. In this paper, we introduce the No-wait Packet Scheduling Problem (NW-PSP) for modelling the scheduling in IEEE Time-sensitive Networks and map it to the No-wait Job-shop Scheduling Problem (NW-JSP), a well-known problem from the field of operational research. In particular, we present a Tabu search algorithm for efficient computing of schedules and a schedule compression technique to reduce number of guard bands in schedule. Our evaluations show that our Tabu search algorithm can compute near-optimal schedules for over 1500 flows and the subsequent schedule compression reduces the number of guard bands on an average by 24%.

A Practical Scheme to Involve Degradation Cost of Lithium-Ion Batteries in Vehicle-to-Grid Applications

Abstract: This paper concentrates on degradation of electric vehicle (EV) lithium-ion batteries in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) programs and proposes a practical wear cost model for EVs charge scheduling applications. As the first step, all the factors affecting the cycle life of lithium-ion batteries are identified and their impacts on degradation process are investigated. Subsequently, a general model for battery loss of cycle life is devised incorporating all the pertinent factors associated with charging and discharging activities in V2G applications. Modeling the battery wear cost as a series of equal-payments over the cycle life, a mechanism for calculating the cost incurred by EV users due to participation in V2G programs is developed. Taking into account the developed battery degradation cost model, EVs charge scheduling problem is revisited and it is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming problem. As the actual battery degradation cost and adopted charging strategy are mutually dependent, a novel iterative method is proposed to efficiently obtain the optimal solution to charge scheduling problem and calculate the associated wear price. Several case studies are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed method in integrating the degradation cost of lithium-ion batteries into charge scheduling of V2G-capable EVs.

Towards task scheduling in a cloud-fog computing system

Abstract: In recent years, with the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), fog computing is introduced as a powerful complement to the cloud to handle the IoT's data and communications needs. The interplay and cooperation between the edge (fog) and the core (cloud) has recently received considerable attention. In this paper, we consider task scheduling in a cloud-fog computing system, where a fog provider can exploit the collaboration between its own fog nodes and the rented cloud nodes for efficiently executing users' large-scale offloading applications. We first formulate the task scheduling problem in such cloud-fog environment and then propose a heuristic-based algorithm, whose major objective is achieving the balance between the makespan and the monetary cost of cloud resources. The numerical results show that our proposed algorithm achieves better tradeoff value than other existing algorithms.

Parallel Machine Scheduling Under Time-of-Use Electricity Prices: New Models and Optimization Approaches

Abstract: The industrial sector is one of the largest energy consumers in the world. To alleviate the grid’s burden during peak hours, time-of-use (TOU) electricity pricing has been implemented in many countries around the globe to encourage manufacturers to shift their electricity usage from peak periods to off-peak periods. In this paper, we study the unrelated parallel machine scheduling problem under a TOU pricing scheme. The objective is to minimize the total electricity cost by appropriately scheduling the jobs such that the overall completion time does not exceed a predetermined production deadline. To solve this problem, two solution approaches are presented. The first approach models the problem with a new time-interval-based mixed integer linear programming formulation. In the second approach, we reformulate the problem using Dantzig–Wolfe decomposition and propose a column generation heuristic to solve it. Computational experiments are conducted under different TOU settings and the results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed methods. Based on the numerical results, we provide some practical suggestions for decision makers to help them in achieving a good balance between the productivity objective and the energy cost objective.

An Estimation of Distribution Algorithm-Based Memetic Algorithm for the Distributed Assembly Permutation Flow-Shop Scheduling Problem

Abstract: In this paper, an estimation of distribution algorithm (EDA)-based memetic algorithm (MA) is proposed for solving the distributed assembly permutation flow-shop scheduling problem (DAPFSP) with the objective to minimize the maximum completion time. A novel bi-vector-based method is proposed to represent a solution for the DAPFSP. In the searching phase of the EDA-based MA (EDAMA), the EDA-based exploration and the local-search-based exploitation are incorporated within the MA framework. For the EDA-based exploration phase, a probability model is built to describe the probability distribution of superior solutions. Besides, a novel selective-enhancing sampling mechanism is proposed for generating new solutions by sampling the probability model. For the local-search-based exploitation phase, the critical path of the DAPFSP is analyzed to avoid invalid searching operators. Based on the analysis, a critical-path-based local search strategy is proposed to further improve the potential solutions obtained in the EDA-based searching phase. Moreover, the effect of parameter setting is investigated based on the Taguchi method of design-of-experiment. Suitable parameter values are suggested for instances with different scales. Finally, numerical simulations based on 1710 benchmark instances are carried out. The experimental results and comparisons with existing algorithms show the effectiveness of the EDAMA in solving the DAPFSP. In addition, the best-known solutions of 181 instances are updated by the EDAMA.

Dual-Objective Scheduling of Rescue Vehicles to Distinguish Forest Fires via Differential Evolution and Particle Swarm Optimization Combined Algorithm

Abstract: It is complex and difficult to perform the emergency scheduling of forest fires in order to reduce the operational cost and improve the efficiency of extinguishing fire services. A new research issue arises when: 1) decision-makers want to minimize the number of rescue vehicles (or fire-fighting ones) while minimizing the extinguishing time; and 2) decision-makers prefer to complete this task given limited vehicle resources. To do so, this paper presents a novel multiobjective scheduling model to handle forest fires subject to limited rescue vehicle (fire engine) constraints, in which a fire-spread speed model is introduced into this problem to better describe practical forestry fire. Moreover, a Multiobjective Hybrid Differential-Evolution Particle-Swarm-Optimization (MHDP) algorithm is proposed to create a set of Pareto solutions for this problem. This approach is applied to a real-world emergency scheduling problem of the forest fire in Mt. Daxing'anling, China. Its effectiveness is verified by comparing it with a genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization algorithm. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is able to quickly produce satisfactory Pareto solutions.